In the fight for the Portuguese Cup between the two contenders for the title, Sporting was stronger. He dominated longer, created more, won the game. He even had the opportunity to extend the lead before Benfica cut it to 2–1 and returned to the game. But the main thing is the end result. And with this only the first part of the two-legged clash, everything remains open for the second game in Luz, the date of which has yet to be announced.
Benfica had a bad first half. Without an attacking azimuth, he was never able to drive the ball deep, which required the speed of Rafa or the technique of Neres and Di Maria. Credit must be given to Sporting who, thanks to their well positioned units and excellent dynamic movement in all areas of the field, made their opponents cower. Therefore, danger always stood before Trubin’s gates. Leo’s dominance was realized in the 9th minute when Pote scored a goal (a header that was not in favor of the Benfica central defenders). After 1:0 the trend of the game continued. More Sporting, less Benfica. It was always like this before the break.
In the second half, Benfica improved. But Sporting scored again thanks to Ghiokeres, who once eluded Antonio Silva and entered the Otamendi field. The Argentine didn’t have the legs for the Swede. A completely justified benefit of Leo’s training.
Benfica’s first successful shot came in the 58th minute. But the team let their nails down only when they had a support in attack. This allowed the team to stretch. He scored a goal in the 68th minute against Orsnes. And soon after he scored again from Di Maria, the move was overturned due to a positional error by Tengstedt. The game was divided: a ball here, a ball there, and at the very end Sporting had a goal disallowed due to Paulinho being offside before Nuno Santos’ shot (which was disallowed). By the second game everything is open and the lion has the advantage.
Overall, Sporting played well and clearly deserved the victory. He even had a period of great achievements. But there was also a power outage, which allowed Benfica to return to the game. BENFICA NEGATIVE FROM THE FIRST PART
Benfica left a terrible image in the first half. The team is disconnected, far from the opponent’s goal and cannot stretch. As for the attack without links, it was anything… just not mobile. ARBITRATION – Controversial fine
Sporting demanded a penalty for Neves’ foul on Pot, and in one of the replay angles this idea was even preserved. Well, VAR called Verissimo to see Tengstedt’s illegal interference in the disallowed goal against Benfica.
AND
In the first classic
Gyokeres became the 12th player in Portuguese football history to score a goal in the first three classic matches played. The Sporting striker has already scored against Benfica in the first round of the championship, as well as against Porto. The Swedish international now has 31 goals in 34 appearances for the Lions.
Overall, Sporting played well and clearly deserved the victory. He even had a period of great achievements. But there was also a power outage, which allowed Benfica to return to the game. BENFICA NEGATIVE FROM THE FIRST PART
Benfica left a terrible image in the first half. The team is disconnected, far from the opponent’s goal and cannot stretch. As for the attack without links, it was anything… just not mobile. ARBITRATION – Controversial fine
Sporting demanded a penalty for Neves’ foul on Pot, and in one of the replay angles this idea was even preserved. Well, VAR called Verissimo to see Tengstedt’s illegal interference in the disallowed goal against Benfica.
The return match at Luza is scheduled for April
Author: Mario Pereira
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.